At a Critical Juncture, Meeting November 1-3 in Thailand
This story was produced and published by Asia Democracy Chronicles.
The last decade in Asia has been a study in contrasts. On one hand, rising authoritarian power, and on the other, the stubborn persistence of popular resistance. Not a few governments across the region have tightened their grip on power through digital surveillance, crackdown on dissent, and state capture of public institutions, among others.
Yet, at every turn, people are pushing back: on the streets, through underground networks, through art, and while in exile.
The upcoming Asia Democracy Assembly 2025 organized by the Asia Democracy Network (ADN) comes at a time of unrelenting repression of human rights in the region, when fear and fatigue, perhaps tempered by cautious optimism, overwhelm individuals and groups on the front lines of the defense of democracy and human rights.
Civil society actors coming together is an act of defiance. The Assembly, which will take place in the Thai capital, Bangkok on Nov. 1-3, is not just an event. It is a reminder to all why civil society networks must continue to navigate the rugged terrain of pro-democracy work, to carve out new spaces for connection while old spaces are shrinking rapidly, and to sustain the spirit of resistance when the weight of repression bears down on them.
Looking back on ADN’s journey since its launch in 2013 brings up collective memories built across democratic struggles. Since its inception, ADN has endeavored to bring national democratic struggles to regional and global platforms.
Over the years, the network has grown to cover more than 30 countries, with 13 regional network members comprising it. These include grassroots activists, human rights defenders, and civic leaders who have forged solidarity and find strength in one another.
Just two years ago, in 2023, also in Bangkok, the Assembly marked the network’s 10th anniversary. The momentous occasion was also a point of reckoning amid extreme challenges to democracy and the steady deterioration of human rights. Pro-democracy actors from across Asia came in full force seeking to craft a fresh vision to move forward.
That moment was a stark reminder that ADN’s role in the pro-democracy movement was not to offer easy solutions but to provide a platform for difficult yet timely conversations and to connect those who otherwise felt isolated in their struggles to reclaim democracy in their respective communities.
Civil society activism
Twelve years since ADN came into existence, civil society activism has never been more crucial amid the spate of human rights abuses hounding specific parts of the region. Authoritarian governments are not only consolidating power at home but also learning from one another, replicating repressive tactics on the domestic front.
In many places, elections no longer function as a democratic path to change but as a mechanism to entrench authoritarian control. Democratic movements are criminalized, dissenters are branded as enemies, and independent media battles an unstoppable onslaught on press freedom.
In Afghanistan, for example, the situation remains dire. Among others, the Taliban’s gender apartheid system has erased women from public life, institutionalizing one of the most extreme forms of exclusion in the region.
This year’s Asia Democracy Assembly “happens at a time of historic repression, yet also of historic resistance. This space is proof that solidarity is not abstract; it is built in every relationship, every story, every act of courage shared here,” says Soo Suh, ADN’s senior program manager.
But behind the troubling realities in the region today is a glimmer of hope. People are charting new paths to resistance – through digital activism, underground organizing, diaspora networks, and surprising alliances. Young people, in particular, are stepping up to the challenge of the times despite risks of imprisonment, online attacks, and social exclusion.
From the student and youth-led protests in Bangladesh and Nepal to people’s uprisings in Indonesia, democratic movements demonstrate that despite repression, the demand for accountability and democratic renewal remains alive and powerful. Communities historically pushed to the margins, including Indigenous peoples, India’s over 200 million-strong Dalits, and LGBTQIA+ communities, refuse to stay invisible in conversations about democracy.
These convey an urgency of action: civil society resisting anti-democratic forces must create spaces to facilitate cross-border collaborations, sharing of experiences, and crafting of strategies that transcend borders.
A convergence of like minds
In the Asia Democracy Assembly 2025, themed “Defending Democracy: Mobilizing Movements and the New Frontiers for Citizen Action, Asia’s democratic struggles will be front and center in the discussions that will take place. It will seek to ensure that movements will steadily move from isolation to solidarity, and where strategies are forged to confront the region’s accelerating authoritarian turn.
This year, the Assembly takes on added significance by being embedded within the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) 2025 and the Asia-Pacific Social Forum (APSF), both of which are also taking place in Bangkok on Nov. 1-5. These connections heighten the regional and global visibility of Asia’s democratic struggle
Together, these platforms will amplify local voices, making sure they resonate in regional and international arenas.
The ADN Assembly prides itself not only on its diversity but also on the range and depth of discussions. A Dalit rights activist, a Hong Kong exile, a Bangladeshi youth organizer, and a feminist lawyer from Thailand may sit in the same circle to engage in meaningful dialogue.
In such an exchange, shared patterns of repression surface alongside sparks of innovation and creative advocacy. Lessons once confined within borders emerge and shaped into strategies that are applicable across movements. Failures and fatigue are spoken about openly, because trust sustains genuine collaborations. Such trust yields enduring commitments: cross-border campaigns, rapid solidarity responses, and sustained networks of resistance.
For ADN, the Assembly is a working platform that informs its advocacy and sharpens its democratic agenda – a collective framework for regional priorities for the years ahead. “I’ve seen ADN grow from an idea into a living, breathing community. Each Assembly has marked a milestone in our journey,” says ADN’s Suh, who has been with the network since its inception.
Eyes on democratic resilience
As democracy is steadily being undermined in Asia, the years ahead look grim. Surveillance technologies, transnational repression, the suppression of fundamental freedoms including free speech, and the spread of corrosive populist narratives are not isolated challenges. They are part of a deliberate ecosystem of control.
For ADN, this reality demands building stronger and more coordinated responses. The Asia Democracy Assembly 2025 will thus lay the foundation for succeeding initiatives by the network: strengthening solidarity mechanisms, deepening cross-movement strategies, and ensuring our members have the protection and resources needed to continue their work.
The anticipated Democracy Agenda that will emerge from the Assembly will guide advocacy, rapid response, and long-term institution-building across the region.
Beyond the Assembly, succeeding actions will require building broader alliances: with media, artists, digital experts, labor unions, diaspora networks, and grassroots movements to formulate resilient democratic practices that can withstand authoritarian control. The role of the next generation of leaders will be critical to the pursuit of those actions: those who are already organizing in universities, villages, refugee camps, and digital spaces, often at great personal risk.
ADN’s role in this regard is to keep spaces open – where movements in crisis can find support, where ideas can be tested across borders, and where collective power can be nurtured.
If the last decade has been about surviving authoritarian resurgence, the next one must be about outpacing it: building a democratic future that is strongly coordinated regionally, inclusive, and unyielding than the forces determined to suppress it.
“Every Assembly reminds us that authoritarianism thrives in isolation. When we come together; activists, youth leaders, movements, journalists, and defenders, we disrupt that isolation.” says Ichal Supriadi, secretary general of ADN. “We show that the fight for democracy is not confined to borders; it is a shared struggle.
